MovieChat Forums > Blackhat (2015) Discussion > The much maligned love story

The much maligned love story

posted 9 years ago by Destro
6 replies | jump to latest

Everybody's complained about this but I thought I'd point out:
1) Hathaway's been in prison how many years and presumably hasn't touched a woman all that time. I would assume no conjugal visits because he apparently doesn't have anyone.
2)Chen Lien tells him he looks different than his pictures which implies she may have had some fixation/fascination with him before they even met.
Couple these circumstances with the fact that they just escaped from death together (a rather intimate experience full of adrenaline ) and it's a little easier to buy a romance developing. Mann is a subtle director and you have to read between the lines with a lot of his stuff. This is a flawed film, however. It seems like Mann is experimenting with how much he can go without explaining. He's actually been doing that for years-throwing the viewer into a situation without setup like "a day in the life" approach.

[–] guigui-paul 9 years ago

I thought the love story was one of the best things in the film.
Tang Wei was very good and it was rather subtly handled, mostly focussing on early gestures, glances, etc the taxi ride, airport scene.
I like how their relationship becomes stronger and stronger BECAUSE of the surrounding horror and violence, first the fight in the restaurant, then the brother's death, both Lien and Nick embracing vengeance in the film's last third.

1) "Hathaway's been in prison how many years and presumably hasn't touched a woman all that time. I would assume no conjugal visits because he apparently doesn't have anyone.
2)Chen Lien tells him he looks different than his pictures which implies she may have had some fixation/fascination with him before they even met.
Couple these circumstances with the fact that they just escaped from death together (a rather intimate experience full of adrenaline ) and it's a little easier to buy a romance developing. Mann is a subtle director and you have to read between the lines with a lot of his stuff."

Very true, Mann more often implicits things with his directions than "hammering" you the ideas and feelings with explicit dialogues, you have to read between the lines..

http://darioargentofr.blogspot.com/

[–] nomusicvideos 9 years ago

Love story was no love at all. Totally dumb and racist to kill off the brother so early in the movie. Typical white idiots.

[–] kenny-164 9 years ago

Good points, Paul. I thought the film was very persuasive as to the love relationship. Going through adversity only strengthened the sexual attraction that was going on at the beginning. Lien thought Nick was handsome from pictuers. Not like that's never happened. He began to be attracted to her for her looks obviously, but also because she spoke directly to him, authentically, concerning what his real situation was. An effective combo, followed up by the anvil of adversity strenthening them. Something else children would not have experience with.

[–] guigui-paul 9 years ago

"He began to be attracted to her for her looks obviously, but also because she spoke directly to him, authentically, concerning what his real situation was."

Indeed. I like the restaurant scene, where she talks frankly to him, telling him who he is, the good man he is capable to be, and the unfair way he wastes his life until now...this little scene was a nice piece of writing, acting and direction and made the characters and their relationship compelling.
I also like the subway scene with the pared down dialogues/lines and the "deal" they make together because of what happened to them: "We go on...together"
Also Lien's long stare at Nick in their room before the final parade showdown is very teling about her feelings towards him, her fear that he is going to commit a kind of "suicidal" act confronting the bad guys...telling stare, glances body language more than dialogues/lines...typical Michael Mann storytelling here.

http://darioargentofr.blogspot.com/

[–] kenny-164 9 years ago

guigui,

Good points all. I agree.

[–] 9 years ago

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